Right now in the UK unless you are a British citizen or a commonwealth citizen with residence in the UK you cannot vote in the general elections. This leaves out a whole group of people that make up a large part of our demographic; from EU nationals like myself to African immigrants, American immigrants, Asian immigrants and immigrants from all over the other continents (whose countries are not in the Commonwealth) with no say over decisions that just like British citizens impact our whole lives. It means that our election results are not representative of our whole country but rather of only a very few. The price to pay to vote? Approximately £2,000 for 2 tests to prove that you are a competent English speaker and a "Britishness test" to show that you have familiarized yourself with British culture its history, food, holidays and celebrations and religious beliefs as well as some of its arts like literature. The final part to this process, if you are successful in your tests, is swearing allegiance either to the Queen or to God-something most British citizens would have never had to do for their right to vote and might not even be aware of. What about those who cannot swear allegiance to either?

I have to remain quiet and let other people decide my future for me. Its like being a toddler again except I am very aware of how other peoples views and decisions differ from mine and how these are going to keep affecting me and millions of other immigrants all over the UK for years to come. There should be no price on someones voice and right to vote. Otherwise we should stop calling ourselves a democracy. Please read, share, sign and add your thoughts to spread awareness and start a debate on this. A basic human right is being infringed for immigrants all over the world, so lets start by changing that in the UK, by showing other countries that we are the progressive democratic country we like to think of ourselves as and that we can pride ourselves in being welcoming and all inclusive to everyone. We are all human and we are all inter connected we all have a voice we all have a mind it is unfair that the voice of some is valued over the voice of others. If we (immigrants) have to pay tax just like a British Citizen then we should get a say on how our money is spent too. If we have to obey by British laws then we should get a say on how they are made and what we are obeying to. 

What I am purposing is not that there is no limit over who can vote but rather that there is no need for a "Britishness" test and British citizenship to do so. At the moment you must live in this country for at least 5 years to be able to qualify to take the exams and acquire a British passport. I purpose that the only requirement is proof of permanent residency in the UK for at least 5 years. That way people like me can vote in the next general election- imagine the next general election turn out if all those who could not vote before during all this time throughout our history due to economic reasons, lack of time and resources to take the tests or simply didn't want to give up their country of birth citizenship, could now have a say in a country they have grown up in, worked in for most of their lives contributed to economically for decades and feel they are a part of?